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New Super Mario Bros. 2 and 3DS XL Big in Japan
Nintendo’s newest hardware and Mario latest release have been out for less than a week in Japan but have still managed to put up some hugely impressive numbers.
Since its launch on July 28, New Super Mario Bros. 2 has moved over 430,000 units, but this number only counts the physical copies. This is the first Nintendo release to see simultaneous retail and digital releases, so it will be interesting not only to see the number of digital copies sold, but also how willing Japanese gamers are to jump on board the digital-distribution band wagon.
As for 3DS XL, which was released on the same day, it sold 193,441 units.
Source: Andriasang
Sega Profits from Refocused Strategy
This time last year, Sega announced a quarterly loss of nearly $30 million. Since then the company has refocused their efforts away from home console releases and have placed a bigger emphasis on the mobile market and digital releases. The result of this change has been a return to profitability; the same quarter this year made Sega $32.5 million.
Break the numbers down a bit further and it becomes all the more apparent that the traditional gaming business hasn’t been pulling its weight, because even though the company as a whole is profitable that part of the company was in the red, losing just shy of $20 million. However, that is still an improvement over last year when the loss was 2.5 times that.
While all of this is definitely good new for Sega, it does raise concerns for the traditional gamer out there who is dedicated to console gaming. The risks of creating big games for the home console market are at the highest they have ever been while the digital market dominated by casual games and mobile devices presents the most opportunity for the least overall risk. Sega has shown that prioritizing the later over the former can turn things around substantially, so it will see how other big name developers and publishers will conduct business going forward.
Source: Gamasutra
EA Expressing Timid Support for Wii U
We know Mass Effect 3 is heading to Wii U and that EA will also be bringing some of their sports titles along for the ride as well, but the publisher still isn’t making any big promises about other plans for Nintendo’s upcoming console. Like many others within the industry, EA was not overly impressed with Wii U’s E3 showing and that is proving to be a source of significant reservation.
Despite that, EA’s COO Peter Moore said “never underestimate Nintendo,” during an earnings conference call, adding that the company will be “keeping a very close eye on the platform.”
With a stable of major franchises like Battlefield, Medal of Honor, and Dead Space in their corner, EA has a great deal to offer Wii U and Moore stated that “great franchises” are in the works for the console, but any announcements will have to wait until some point further down the road.
Source: IGN
